Roll Out The Red Carpet For Rosmah

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In Malaysia, you do or die. You do not procrastinate.
Our judiciary had a chance to jail the convicted felon, Najib Abdul Razak, but didn't. With every passing day since his SRC International trial, Najib has sapped our energy and sanity. His supporters believe that he is innocent and demand that his slate be wiped clean.
Law-abiding citizens are losing faith and trust in the institutions which should be protecting them, and that includes the judiciary.
Meanwhile, Najib struts around like a prime-minister-in-waiting. He engaged an American PR firm to spruce up his dented image. Despite the damaging testimonies during the trial of the Goldman Sachs banker, Roger Ng, Najib has sailed from strength to strength. The cherry on the cake being the Umno win in Johor.
When he is finally installed once more as PM, Najib will say, "I told you so! Cash is king."
How many times have we been reminded that we follow the Westminster system of justice and that Najib's crime was a bailable offence? We are also told that it was left to the judges' discretion to jail Najib. So what prompted the reluctance to jail him? He could just as easily have lodged his appeal from prison.
So, why did the judiciary fail us with Najib? No lessons will be learnt by other corrupt and potentially corrupt politicians. They see a lax system. In the shadows of the corridors of power, they whisper, "It's the Deep State at work."
You may think that Najib's return as PM is bad, but picture this: The red carpet will soon be rolled out for the former, self-styled First lady of Malaysia (FLOM), Rosmah Mansor, to take her rightful place beside Najib.
Yet again, Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been proven right. To paraphrase him, Malaysians are forgetful. Najib's supporters, MCA and MIC, have forgotten that Najib is a convict. He stole their money, too.
Did anyone notice Rosmah at any of the Umno by-election campaigns and victory speeches? No! All throughout, she has been safely hidden away from public view. She only surfaces at her own corruption trials.
Rosmah is kept out of sight because she sets our pulses racing and increases our blood pressure. She reminds us of Najib's criminal past. His simple strategy to make us forget his crimes was effective. "Out of sight, out of mind."
Fortunately for most Malaysians, yesterday’s trial in America, brought it all flooding back.
We recall Najib's soundbite, "Cash is king', and that Rosmah saved since her teenage years to purchase her expensive jewellery. Members of Najib's former cabinet lied about the Arab prince. The investigative bodies, like the MACC, the police, and the former attorney-general all found Najib as innocent as a newborn babe.
The pink diamond
On March 24, the jury in Ng's trial was told that there was no Arab prince who would donate RM2.6 billion. There was no teenage piggy bank, even for someone as 'frugal' as Rosmah.
The shockwaves during the trial were felt from America to Malaysia. Parallels have been drawn between the American and Malaysian investigations. The focus centred on the quality, depth, and thoroughness of the investigations.
First. Who is lying? Is it New York jeweller Lorraine Schwartz, who was commissioned to design Rosmah's necklace? Or Najib?
Schwartz said that she sold a 22-carat diamond necklace worth US$23 million (RM97 million) to Rosmah. In 2018, Najib claimed that the pink diamond was a gift from Sheikh Mansour Zayed of the UAE.
Najib has not denied Schwarz's testimony. Does this mean he lied?
Second. Where is the pink diamond? No photo of the diamond or necklace has emerged. Why not?
Was the pink diamond amongst the items seized by the Malaysian police when they raided Najib's residence in 2018?
Jurors were told that the pink diamond was like a paperweight. Something as huge as this would have been singled out in the haul of several items seized from Najib's residences. So, where is the diamond/necklace?
Third. Tim Leissner's sweetener for his Malay mistress, Rohana Rozhan, was a townhouse in London, worth US$10 million. The money allegedly came from 1MDB.
Tim Leissner and Rohana RozhanThe MACC acted with speed. Within days of Leissner's testimony, they twice interviewed Rohana and subsequently froze her assets.
When will Rosmah and Najib visit the MACC headquarters?
Fourth. How does one convince the gullible Malaysian public that Najib is guilty?
His theft of taxpayers' money has plunged Malaysia into debt and it is our children and grandchildren who are burdened with debt payments.
If any kind of reform is to become a reality, Pakatan Harapan is the only viable show in town.
Time and again, Umno and its various clones, like Bersatu, Pejuang and PAS, have failed the rakyat.
Harapan is not perfect and it has a lot of soul searching to do before it can become palatable and trusted again by the Malaysian public.
Will PKR president Anwar Ibrahim's ego allow him to stand down for younger creative leaders to manage Harapan?
The alternative, which is a return to a government led by Najib, is too horrible to contemplate. His newly revitalised Umno will be merciless and remove all obstacles to their rule.
If Najib returns as PM, the kleptocratic days of his previous tenure will be nothing compared to the new plans which he has lined up for you.
Do nothing at your peril. - Mkini
MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army, and president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO). Blog, Twitter.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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